 |
TOWN OF GRANBY
PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION
MINUTES
FEBRUARY 26, 2008
Present: Paula Johnson, Chairwoman, Margaret Chapple, Charles Kraiza, Paul Lambert, James Sansone, Linda Spevacek, Francis Armentano, Director of Community Development and Edward Sweeney, Town Engineer.
The meeting opened at 7:03 p.m.
Public session: There was no public comment.
ON A MOTION by Margaret Chapple, seconded by Paul Lambert, the Commission voted to approve the minutes of January 8, 2008. All approved. Charles Kraiza and James Sansone abstained.
Public hearing on an application seeking approval for a 1-lot re-subdivision for property located at 255 Hungary Road, File P-1-08, opened at 7:05 p.m. Kevin Clark, PE, Clark Engineering stated that the owner, Ildiko Beke, wants to create one new conventional building lot of 1.7 acres. This property is in an R50 zone and the lot is created along the existing road frontage of Hungary Road. The total property contains approximately 27 acres with an existing single family home. Mr. Clark stated further subdivision is unlikely due to the presence of wetlands and slopes. The applicant is requesting a waiver of the open space requirement as the property is being transferred to her sister. A letter of approval has been received from Farmington Valley Health District stating the soils are suitable
for a well and septic system for a 3-bedroom home. The Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission has granted the necessary approvals for the re-subdivision. There was no public comment. The public hearing closed at 7:19 p.m.
Public hearing on an application for a special permit under Section 8.8 of the Zoning Regulations seeking permission to use a portion of an existing barn for a home occupation for property located at 134 Day Street, File Z-01-08, opened at 7:20 p.m. Marcy and Thomas Green stated they operate the company office of Dragonfly Event Inc., from their Day Street home. Dragonfly Inc. is a floral design business. They conceive and design floral and theme décor elements for social events (mostly wedding and Bar/Bat Mitzvah clients) to include table and ceremony floral centerpieces, accent pieces, and personal flowers such as bouquets and boutonnieres. Since they moved to Granby in 2007, they have worked on a total of twelve events, all of which were held in the DC metropolitan area. Mrs. Green
indicated they average only 1-2 events per month. When they are working an event in DC, they are gone from their home Wednesday through Saturday. The Post and Beam Barn is utilized to store tools, containers and props utilized by the business. It is also utilized for flower and container preparation (cutting and putting flowers in buckets of water), and assembly of the floral work. All but one event has been assembled in their DC office. Mr. Green indicated a portion of the barn is used for personal use for his woodworking shop, tools and yard equipment. He noted that he is undertaking various home improvements and that activities in the barn and deliveries to the house related to home improvements could be confused with those related to the home occupation. The barn is not heated. Also, there is a bay for parking their van. The Green’s indicated they have no employees, no outside lighting, signs or advertising at
this location. They discussed the portion of the building that is used for the home occupation. They stated they have approximately 2 –3 deliveries of supplies a week that are made by van, FedEx or UPS. There was one past delivery that was made by a tractor-trailer truck. Overall the applicant made it clear that the home occupation was primarily an office use with some minor assembly and storage in the barn. Robert Maier, 138-Day Street, presented the Commission members with a packet of materials, titled, Arguments Against the Special Use Permit Application to Commercialize 134-Day Street. Mr. Maier discussed the information in this packet of materials, expressing his concern for the location of the barn, storage of boxes, deliveries, increased truck traffic, property values, increased noise and privacy. He also expressed concern for the Granby Oak due to the increased truck traffic. He commented that the Green’s operated without the special permit and applied for a
building permit before they owned the property. Attorney Robert Reeve, representing the Maier’s, submitted a packet of printed materials on the application. The materials included, in part, his review of the application, copies of materials taken from Town files, materials taken from web sites, Scenic Road materials, pages from the Town’s Plan of Conservation and Development and a Restricted Limited Appraisal. The appraisal was prepared for the Maier’s for the purpose of “determining loss of value of a residential property due to influence of a commercial use.” It was prepared by Cynthia Nemeth. Attorney Reeve discussed his view of the application with the Commission, pointing out his many concerns. He introduced the appraisal. This was the Commission’s first opportunity to view the written appraisal. The appraiser was not in attendance to answer questions. PZC member Margret Chapple noted that the
appraisal states that the abutting property owner is requesting a variance for commercial use and asked Attorney Reeve about this discrepancy, noting that the application is for a special permit for a home occupation. Attorney Reeve seemed to imply that the error was not significant. Andrea Maier, 134-Day Street commented on the application and questioned the date of the building permit and the date of the sale. Bud Murtha, Development Commission, stated his support for home occupations. In his opinion, a farm with animals and manure would be more intrusive than the proposed home occupation. He suggested limiting the hours when the residents can work in the barn and restricting tractor trailer deliveries. He also suggested that the permit be issued for a limited length of time. In this way, the activity can be scrutinized and the neighborhood impact, if any, identified. Robert Alward, 219-Day Street, welcomed the Green’s to the town
and the neighborhood, stating that the barn is a well-built building and adds value to the town. He admires people with home base businesses and doesn’t like seeing neighbor against neighbor issues. He also indicated that he was very upset someone placed an unsigned packet of written materials regarding this application in his and other mailboxes in and around the Day Street area. He encouraged the Commission to approve this application and wished the Green’s well. Several local neighbors complained about the heavy truck traffic especially the number of large tractor-trailers and logging trucks using Day Street and the speed that they traveled. It was further noted that Day Street had been designated as a scenic road. Other considerations and comments from the public were for the impact on the neighborhood, environmental issues, resale values and termination date of the permit. Fran Armentano stated that he has reviewed
the application and found it to be in conformance with the regulations. He noted that the home occupation regulations anticipate the use of outbuildings for such use and stated that the use will be indistinguishable from the typical residential use of property and that it will not have a detrimental impact upon the area. Fran stated that he has driven by the property numerous times over the past weeks and that he has never noticed any activity on the property. A letter of support was received from the Reid’s of 126 Day Street. Richard Gutttermuth of 3 Juniper Drive submitted a letter in opposition and the Evonsion’s of 95 East Street submitted a letter in opposition. The public hearing closed at 8:46 p.m.
Public hearing on an application seeking to modify an approved special permit regarding live entertainment for property located at 17R East Granby Road, Granby Pub and Grill, File Z-2-08, opened at 8:48 p.m. Fran Armentano stated the public hearing would be continued to March 11, 2008. To date Fran has not received adequate information for a complete review of this application, most notably the floor plans. The public hearing adjourned at 8:50 p.m.
The Commission held an informal discussion with Ed Lally concerning the potential development of property located at 123 Old Messenger Road, Rugland property, rear of Silkey Heights Road. Mr. Lally stated he is representing Walt and Millie Rugland, owners of the property. He reviewed the original Silkey Heights subdivision and the easement off the end of the cul-de-sac. He noted the easement has no slope rights, but using property of the Ruglands, the town road could be continued to the Rugland property, up to a length of 3000 feet, without a waiver. He further noted the difficulty of creating a compliant cul-de-sac due to the existing grades. This Town road concept might allow for 3 conventional lots. Mr. Lally went over a map of a FRD development, located on a private road. He went over the
details of preserved open space and discussed design options. It was agreed that 19 lots currently exist on Silkey Heights Road. Without a waiver to the 25 lot maximum permitted on a dead end street, only 6 additional lots could be created. However, for these 6 lots to be constructed a waiver may be necessary for the length of dead end road. If a private road was constructed, it would need to be placed on Town property. This would not be permitted and the developer would therefore need to acquire the land from the Town. It cannot be determined at this time if the Town would agree to transfer the land to a private developer. If a private road was allowed, the maximum number of new lots that could be created, without a waiver, is 5. A potential of 8 lots could be granted on a private street with 2 waivers. This plan would preserve 73% or 41 acres of the land as open space. Fran Armentano suggested that without any waivers, or transfer
of Town property to the developer, only one rear lot might actually be allowed. Ed Lally was seeking a direction from the Commission members on the number of lots that might be approved, noting the considerable expense of producing a subdivision plan for this property. At this time, the Commission permitted comments from the public on the matter. Residents of Silkey Heights spoke in opposition of any additional lots due to increased traffic and the impact on the neighborhood. They indicated that most of this land was non-buildable. They also noted that this land is a keystone and vital link to preserving the historic and natural character of the Old Messenger Road corridor. They commented on the ridgeline and expressed concern for the numerous construction vehicles that would need to travel the entire length of Silkey Heights Road, through the existing neighborhood, every time they came and went to the proposed development. Jim Sansone
highlighted the significant amount of land that would be preserved under the draft plan. Other members appeared uncomfortable with the waivers necessary for the approval of the plan. A maximum number of 1-5 lots was verbalized. Members expressed caution on the granting of waivers and seemed to feel that they would need a compelling reason to grant waivers.
The Commission held an informal discussion with Dave Ziaks of Hesketh Associates, on the potential development of property located at 21-23 Hartford Avenue. Attorney Jacobs was unable to attend due to a prior commitment. Mr. Ziaks stated that his client is interested in building a new Walgreen’s store on these properties. Mr. Ziaks noted that a modified and smaller version of the standard Walgreens building could be constructed on the property with the existing C2 zone line remaining in its current position. However, if the C2 zone line could be moved further back from the street line, the site would facilitate a more attractive building and improved site layout. Mr. Ziaks sought comments from the Commission on the possibility of moving the C2 zone line. Chairwoman Johnson
suggested that the developers check with the Development Commission on the future plans for the town center. The Development Commission is currently contemplating a comprehensive rezoning of the Center. Bud Murtha, Development Commission Chairman was in the audience and he was asked for an opinion on this matter. Mr. Murtha indicated that the business center is more likely to thrive with a variety of different commercial uses. He noted that if Walgreens was approved for this site, there would be 3 pharmacies within 300 feet of each other. In his opinion, the Development Commission would prefer that this important site to be used for a commercial use that is different than those that already exist within the Town Center. He urged the Commission not to approve a zone change at this time. The Commission members appeared to agree that the time was not right for a modification of the zone line on the individual properties discussed.
Chairwoman Johnson noted that Walgreens would be a welcome addition to Granby, while expressing concern for the specific location.
Fran presented the modifications to the exterior design of the approved office building proposed for property located at 37 Hartford Avenue, File Z-7-07. The Commission members clearly favored the redesign over the original.
There were no Staff reports or Correspondence.
Ed Sweeney reported the gravel operation located at 114 Wells Road and 537 Salmon Brook Street, Janeski property, was running very smoothly and that the removal of sand from the site would be completed in a few weeks, well ahead of the April deadline.
ON A MOTION by James Sansone, seconded by Paul Lambert, the Commission voted to approve an application seeking approval for a 1-lot re-subdivision for property located at 255 Hungary Road, File P-1-08, as proposed and with a waiver of the open space All approved.
The meeting adjourned at 10:36 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Dorcus S. Forsyth
Recording Secretary
| |
